$200,000 fine for short-changing worker

A big fine for a Gold Coast pizza store that short-changed one of its delivery drivers.

The man who owns and operates the Pizza Hut franchise outlet at Upper Coomera, and his company have been slugged with a $216,000 fine by the Federal Circuit Court.

It's after the Fair Work Ombudsman found he had a sham contract with a delivery driver, that saw the worker underpaid $6,000 dollars over six months.

The driver was treated as an independent contractor when he started working at the store in 2015, paid a flat rate of no more than $16 an hour, when he should have been entitled to receive at least $20.36 for ordinary hours as an employee of the store.

He was also underpaid a per-delivery entitlement, superannuation and a uniform allowance.

The driver has since been back-paid in full.

The owner was also found guilty of providing false records to the Fair Work Ombudsman during its investigation.